spoiled

[spoild]

adjective

1. (of a person, especially a child) indulged excessively or pampered, with a harmful effect on character.

   Her grandfather is a rough, no-nonsense farmer with little patience for a spoiled kid from the city.

2. (of food) having become bad or unfit for use; tainted, rancid, or soured.

   Eating spoiled fish causes symptoms that closely resemble an allergic reaction.

3. severely damaged or harmed, especially in a way that reduces value, usefulness, excellence, enjoyment, etc.; marred or ruined.

   His new book, Fly Fishing Tips for the Desperate, can help turn a spoiled fishing trip into a successful one.

4. (of a ballot) disqualified by being marked in an improper way or otherwise marred or defaced.

   If you make a mistake on your absentee ballot, return it to the auditor with "spoiled ballot” on the envelope and request a replacement.

verb

1. a simple past tense and past participle of spoil.

Other Word Forms

• unspoiled adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of spoiled¹

spoil ( def. ) + -ed ² ( def. )

Example Sentences

Still, based solely on the error-prone heist — it’s been ages since pantyhose masks seemed so ridiculous — thievery isn’t this spoiled man’s strong suit either.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Ms Crickmore said she spoiled her flea-bitten plant with masses of manure and plenty of water to produce the whopper.

Read more on BBC

Her goal was to simply grab random words and throw fits over them, to derail the proceedings with her spoiled princess routine.

Read more on Salon

Were he alive today, perhaps he’d add, “Nobody’s interested in baseball anymore. All the players are spoiled multimillionaires.”

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

The magazine painted Johnson, widely known by her nickname Libet, as another spoiled American heiress with too much money and not enough purpose.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• rotten